Hippo
by summermocha
Summary: What seems like a total insult could actually be a compliment. NaLu.


** Hippo**

Hey guys! This is my story, "Hippo" for Natsu and Lucy~

As always, I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

They hovered over the book Lucy was reading.

It had small font, the size of ants, that disabled Natsu and Happy from reading it.

They instead, gazed at the pictures surrounding the small words.

"If you two wanna look at some pictures, go to the preschool nearby and look at some." Lucy finally snapped, getting annoyed with Natsu and Happy's hovering, which was casting a dark shadow on the pages she was trying to read.

"B-but Lucy! We're banned from the Preschool, remember?" Natsu replied, a giant thought bubble forming over their heads, with the memory of Natsu burning down the small building while fighting Gray in their usual conflicts, appeared.

"Ugh, fine." Lucy replied, flustered. Even if she _did _like Natsu in _that _lovey-dovey way, she still got annoyed by his childish antics.

Natsu and Happy quickly sat next to her, Natsu on her left side, and Happy on her right, enjoying the book. Natsu was so incredibly close to Lucy, she could feel his warmth. This realization made her cheeks a little pink. '_This doesn't mean anything,_' Lucy thought. '_He's so oblivious!'_

Erza snuck a look. "Look at those three," Erza said, nudging Gray on his elbow. The two were enjoying drinks together, like they occasionally do when not occupied with missions.

Gray glanced over lazilly, and saw Lucy screaming at Natsu not to invade her "bubble", as Happy snuck under the table in fear. It looked like a normal sight to him. "Looks the same," Gray replied.

Erza chuckled. "You're kidding. They're like the Three Musketeers, so cute together."

"Yeah, maybe," Gray replied, sipping his drink.

Of course, as far his stripping habit goes, his shirt miraculously dissapeared, leaving Erza annoyed. Juvia, as always, was watching Gray and smiled to herself with happiness.

"Gray, get some clothes," Erza ordered.

Gray, confused, looked down at his shirtless chest (Much to Juvia's enjoyment) and blushed heavily. He dashed outside of the guild to retrieve clothes. Erza wondered how many spare pairs of shirts Gray must own. Erza chuckled as she saw Juvia blushing heavily herself behind the pillar, watching them. Erza finished her drink, and approached Lucy and her pests. "What are you reading?" Erza asked.

Lucy's head snapped up from her book. "A book about a mysterious wizard who-"

"That's not a wizard, it's a hippo." Natsu interrupted, pointing at the image with a rather plump character with a magic wand. It had small, black eyes, and a large snout-like mouth. It had chubby arms, and what appeared to be small ears- just like a hippo.

"That's the wizard, _not _a hippo," She replied, annoyed. "It's about a wizard seeking love, trying to find someone who will love him despite his flaws-"  
"Fat chance!" Natsu exclaimed, slapping his knee at the _hilarious _joke he had made. (Not so) suprisingly, only Happy understood the joke, and they began laughing hysterically.

Lucy, growing angrier by the minute, punched Natsu right in his cheek. "Natsu, I'm trying to read this book! SHUT UP!" She held the book closer to her face, so the cover hid her face. '_He has to get this hint,_' Lucy thought. For once, she wanted peace and silence to read her book.

"You know Lucy, you kind of remind me of a hippo."

The guild got quiet.

**-x-x-x-**

Everyone stared at what Natsu had just said. They hid in fear, afraid of what Lucy would do. Maybe she'd turn into Lucy-zilla and eat everyone?  
"NATSU!" Erza exclaimed, holding Natsu by his neck. She gripped her hold on him tightly. "I _can't _believe you just tried to say a fat joke to Lucy..."

"L-let me explain..." Natsu whimpered.

The image of a hippo- fat, unacttractive, lazy, always eating, and rolling in dirt- occured in Lucy's mind. Hippos are _not _cute. Lucy would usually ignore an insult like this, Happy always made remarks like that. But, an insult from the one you _love_...the _love _that is oblivious to her own affections... The way he carelessly said it...

"Screw off!" Lucy screamed, throwing the book at Natsu's face. Everyone looked at her- her angry, tomato red face. Tears were suddenly dropping from her eyes. She quickly turned, and dashed outside of the guild. Gray, who was returning from retrieving a new shirt, happened to pass by Lucy.

Noticing her tears, and the way she ran so incredibly fast, he stopped to talk to her. "Lucy, what's wron-"  
"Go away!" She replied back, screaming. Pedistrians walked by her, observing this strange Mage running around with tears in her eyes.

Gray slammed the guild doors open.

"What's wrong with Lucy?" He demanded.

Everyone glanced at Natsu. "I dunno. Ask Natsuuuuu," Someone pointed.

"Just ask Romeo what _genius _thing he did, this time." Another sarcastically remarked.

Gray glared at Natsu. "What idiotic thing did you do this time?"  
Juvia silently sulked in the corner. '_Gray-sama...caring about another woman than Juvia?_'

"Nothing," Natsu replied. "I said she reminded me of a hippo-"

"A HIPPO? ARE YOU AN IDIOT? YOU _NEVER _SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO A WOMAN!" Gray's voice roared with anger, and a _teenie _bit of humor from Natsu' fat joke. "Natsu, if there's anything you _don't _say to a woman, it's her weight-"  
"But it wasn't a fat joke," Natsu replied. Erza looked at him. Confused, she loosened her tight grip on his neck. "Hippos are cute, but when you piss them off, they turn all badass and kill everything in sight. Now _that_'s impressive, right?" He grinned.

The guild remained silent, not with fear or anger, but with...dissapointment?  
How could Natsu be _that _oblivious to that remark of calling Lucy a hippo? It seemed as though he hadn't even thought about how Lucy would take it.

"So it was a compliment," Erza said, her grip on Natsu fading. She was dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah! I wouldn't insult Lucy like that! Happy usually does that!"  
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

Gray rolled his eyes, and let off a little steam. "Natsu, I think you should apologize. I passed by Lucy, and she was crying pretty bad."  
"APOLOGIZE!" Erza screamed, throwing Natsu out the front door, fire in her eyes.

"What an idiot," Gray muttered.

"Aye," The blue Exceed agreed.

**-x-x-x-**

"Lucy!" He called for her, over and over again.

'_Oh, her house...!_' He thought, and ran to her apartment.

"Lucy?" He called for her again, peering into her humble abode. He wandered into the living room. No...no Lucy here. The bathroom remained empty. Even the kitchen.

He left the apartment, wondering where she could be. He folded his arms behind his head, and wondered Magnolia. '_I'll look all over, if that's what I'll have to do!_' He began running faster, hoping to find her before nightfall. The sun was already setting. '_What if Lucy got kidnapped?_' Horror began to seep into his mind. '_Oh shit..!_'

Running out of breath, he slowly walked towards a tree. '_This looks familiar_,' He thought. Memories of Lucy slapping him obnoxiously when he told her he had been looking for Virgo to dig up the hole for him. He smiled. Lucy's slaps hurt like hell, but her touch was so ... smooth, so nice, so... wait. Natsu felt himself blush, and his heart skip a beat. '_No, I like Lucy as a nakama..! Not like that,_'

He heard sobbing from the other side of the tree. "Lucy!" He exclaimed, running to the other side.

Lucy sat there, her eyes as red as Erza's hair, her knees clutched to her face. So many tears had fallen onto the grass, Natsu was amazed that a lake hadn't formed yet. "Lucy, I'm sorry-"  
"Natsu, go away." She sobbed. Even with her lingering feelings for him, she didn't want to see his face. Whenever she was having a bad day, she could count on Natsu to make it better. Just seeing his face, with his peachy skintone, with his black-onyx eyes, and gorgeous cherry blossom pink hair, could make her smile. She was almost certain the feelings were one-sided, anyways. '_The sooner I cut him off, the sooner I'll find a different love._'

"No, Lucy..." He sat next to her. He sat so close, Lucy felt herself blush again.

"Why is it so hard to stay mad at you?" She asked.

Natsu's eyes widened. "Eh?"  
"You were a jerk, b-but I just can't stay mad at you...Kinda like my father..." She buried her face into her knees.

"Lucy," Natsu placed his hand on her shoulder. _Her soft, smooth, shoulder..._ Natsu shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his head. "I didn't mean to piss you off. Calling you a hippo was a compliment,"  
"A c-compliment? Are you kidding?" Lucy's voice rose. "Hippos are fat, ugl-"

Lucy was caught in a facade that being compared to a hippo was the truth. No one could love a hippo. That means...no one could love Lucy. Not even Natsu.

"No, they're not." Natsu replied, calm, for once. "Hippos seem cute, but are really tough and badass when they get pissed off. Kinda like you-" Realizing what he said, Natsu stopped speaking. His face turned cherry-red.

"You think I'm cute?" Lucy asked, her face rising above her knees. Her eyes widened, and upon Natsu's words, Lucy's heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah! Lucy, you're amazing!" Natsu replied, grinning.

"R-really?" Lucy asked, smiling. Her tears had stopped falling. She was still blushing. Natsu took her soft hand into his rough hands. They were used to the touch, they had held hands before, but...this time was different. Sparks flew. This was the feeling Lucy had read about in romance novels. It seemed so real, so magical. Now she knew why the library was cluttered with romantic novels. This is the feeling people die for.

He lifted her up. "Lucy, I think you're amazing. I would never intentionally insult you like that,"  
His onyx eyes locked with her dark coffee eyes. "R-really? But you and Hap-"  
"That's different," He responded, serious. "Lucy..." He placed his hands on her chin. He didn't know why, but it felt _right._ For once, doing something out of impulse felt right. He pushed her chin slightly upwards with his thumb, with enough force for her to actually look up at his face. He leaned in closer and closer, and pressed his lips against her's.

The kiss was everything she had read about. She _knew _why love was so desired. "N-Natsu," She whispered, after they had pulled back from the kiss. His arms were now wrapped around her back, holding her closely to his chest. His chin lay on top of her sunny-blonde hair, soft as silk. "Does this mean you-"  
Natsu kissed her head, again, out of impulse. His heart was beating so damn fast. He never had a rush like this before. "Lucy, I think I like you."  
'_He likes me..._' This was so different than the time Mirajane had suspected Natsu of liking Lucy. '_So my feelings are returned,_' "I like you too, Natsu." Lucy finally said. She wrapped his arms around his neck. '_I guess...even a 'hippo' like me could be loved_.'

The moon was high in the sky, it's light shining down on Natsu and Lucy, who had continued to share some more kisses.

**-x-x-x-**

"So, you're an item now, eh?" Cana asked, winking at Lucy.

Lucy had told her everything about what happened last night. Remembering it, Lucy leaned back slightly, and smiled.

"I think," Lucy replied.

"About time," Cana replied, smirking.

Erza sat next to them at the bar. "Finally," She interrupted.

"Maybe Natsu and I will be like you and Jellal, Erza," Lucy said, smiling. For once in a long time, she was..._happy. _Happy to be in love, or happy to be with Natsu, she didn't know.

Erza blushed heavily. "No. You'll be more than that,"  
Lucy felt a sudden tug of force against her neck. "What the-"

Cana and Erza giggled. "Hey, Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

Lucy blushed slightly. "Jeez Natsu, what's your problem?"  
"You're just touchy 'cause we made out," Natsu smirked.

"LUCY! YOU AND NATSU KISSED?" Gray suddenly appeared, interrupting them.

"Eh...?" Lucy questioned.

"Wow Natsu! So you finally got with the hippo!" Happy chuckled.

"SHUT UP!" Lucy growled at Happy.

"When are you two going to take the next step?" Gray asked.

Juvia stood behind the pillar of the guild, watching her lover. '_That's right Gray-sama, Lucy is with another man! Now you have no one to choose but Juvia!_' She thought.

"Tonight, _right, _Lucy?" Natsu asked, still grinning.

"What? What next step?" She asked, embarassed.

Mirajane wiped the bar with a moist towel. "Finally, they're together~"

"The guild is pretty into it," Cana noted.

The group laughed and teased the new couple, as expected.

They made jokes as Natsu wrapped his arm around Lucy, who is and _will _always be _his _property.

"Lucy, you still remind me of a hippo." Natsu said, slightly smiling.

Lucy narrowed her eyebrows at him. In an irritated tone, she spoke. "You...!"

She blushed heavily, as the group roared with laughter.

* * *

That was like, a ten minute drabble I wrote, haha. I hope you guys liked it.

I think the ending was rushed, but...

Hopefully you enjoyed it!


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